The following is a first-hand accounting by Kyra Greenstar of the heroes of Kenabres and their journey from the fall of Kenabres until their righteous victory!
11th of Sarenith, 4713
The festival is over and I said my farewells last night before a night of fitful sleep that yielded little rest. I had the dream yet again of that night...
My journey begins today! Father has brokered passage for me on his vessel to Absalom and says he is going to help me find a skiff to take me one step further to Cassomir. From there, he says, it is up to me to find my own route to Kenabres. I tremble with excitement at the thought, yet am anxious on how this pilgrimage shall change me.
Mother is making my favorite for my last breakfast... I can smell the spices and peppers. I makes my mouth water. I will miss her dearly. I shall return home again, one day, when I have finally made sense of everything that has happened to me. It still burns, sometimes, my scar. Even to this day. I am ready for answers...
In mine own hand,
Elsbereth
25th of Erastus, 4713
Finally, I arrived in Egede last evening. Passage up the Sellen was long, dangerous, and weary... I have grown so accustomed to the slight swaying and bucking of a ship's deck that solid ground makes me feel ill-at-ease and off balance. Shortly I will be leaving for Kenabres, but must earn some currency to make the trip. Or perhaps I can offer my services as an entertainer and attach myself to one of the many caravans constantly going hither and thither.
It is much cooler here than I imagined it would. Even in the midst of summer I find myself wearing thicker clothing to stave off the cooler temperatures. At first I found myself missing the warmth of home, until... I awoke for the dawn as I always do to find a crisp, cool morning. The smells of the forest, the wind in the trees... It is like nothing I have ever experienced. Sothis will always be my place of birth, but... It may not be home to me any longer.
In mine own hand,
Elsbereth
27th of Erastus, 4713
I have arranged for travel to Kenabres and learned of an upcoming festival that I shall be arriving just in time to see; Armasse! I am thrilled to learn more of this festival and Kenabres over the two week journey... I am nearly to my destination, but what do I go to face? My destiny? My death? Dawnflower guide me...
In mine own hand,
Elsbereth
8th of Arodus, 4713
I arrived in Kenabres! My nearly two month journey is finally at its end. The city is filled with such life for the celebration of Armasse. This is not the sombre fortress I had expected. Already I have made a friend, a cleric of Sarenrae from Sothis of all places! He studied at the very same temple as I! I am to meet up with Kelden tomorrow and a local girl to explore the festival. I am very excited! If I was not so utterly exhausted and excited to sleep in a real bed, I may not be able to find sleep. As such, I can already feel my eyelids drooping. I am so very excited about tomorrow!
In mine own hand,
Elsbereth
9th of Arodus, 4713
My journey to Kenabres was not... I cannot write now of what I witnessed on the attack of the great city right now, the grief and fear are too close. Instead I will write about the acts of heroism that I have witnessed. First must be noted the fall of the great dragon Terendelev whose noble sacrificed saved my life amongst several others, my companions: Alesie the elven lass, Carilain the elven magus, Farak the dwarf of Cayden Cailean, Aurora the aasimar, and Kelden the cleric of Sarenrae. We collected three other wounded with us following the aftermath of the attack, deep in the black caverns beneath Kenabres; Hargus Gwerm the pompous nobleman, Anevia, and Aravashial...
I came to hate those tunnels with every fiber of my being. The silent darkness was filled with more than we ever expected and soon found ourselves facing what we believed was a massive spider the size of a horse; however, our foes revealed themselves as giant maggots... We quickly dispatched the unnaturally large insects, but not without Carilain taking a nasty wound. Luckily Kelden infused the elf with some of our goddess' healing magic and knitted the wound closed.
Afterwards I passed out six scales I had found in the rubble to my companions; scales that had belonged to our savior, Terendelev. It appeared she had imbued them with some of her magical essence and left us with power items...
We then gathered the wounded and began our long journey through the tunnels, fighting more giant insects along the way. I pray to Sarenrae I never again see another oversized insect. After what seemed to be hours we located an abandoned temple of Torag. Inside we faced the undead remains of the temple's priest... The creature was a difficult foe, but we vanquished him all the same! Carilain, Alesie, and I took the remains of the dwarven priest and the other dwarven body and placed them to rest beneath a simple cairn of stone while Kelden and Farak proceeded with returning the temple to a holy place once again.
And here I find myself while we take a rest to allow our wounded bodies and broken hearts a few hours to mend, in a temple beneath the ground while battles rage on above me. Will we ever make it back to the surface? Will I have the strength to stand before such foes? I do not know... Only my goddess knows and I miss the kiss of her warmth more now than I ever have before... I miss home...
In mine own hand,
Elsbereth